Advertisers have relied on many different ways to deliver advertising messages. For example, many advertisements are delivered through broadcast mass media, such as radio and television, or through printed mass media, such as magazines and newspapers. Direct advertising is another popular and often highly effective method because messages are delivered directly to a defined population of consumers. In addition to direct mail and e-mails, other direct advertising methods include dimensional mail, catalogs, inserts in bills and other mailings.
Despite the many different media available to advertisers, however, there is a continuing need to develop effective, cost efficient methods of advertising. For example, while distribution by broadcast media is relatively inexpensive, the cost of producing entertainment, news and other content for broadcast media can be extremely expensive, and those costs are reflected in advertising fees. Content production costs for printed mass media also can be substantial, and printed mass media can be expensive to produce and distribute. While most direct advertising contains little or no content beyond the advertising message, and thus, involves relatively low content cost, the cost of direct advertising nevertheless can be substantial. Such costs typically include the generation of a mailing list and postage or other delivery costs.
Moreover, a substantial portion if not the majority of all advertising messages are never viewed by their intended audience for one reason or another. Many consumers receiving the advertisement may have no interest in the advertised good or service, or they may not be able to afford it. There also is a general clutter of advertisements that makes it difficult for a particular ad to capture the attention of consumers, especially if the consumer is distracted or otherwise occupied when the opportunity for viewing the ad arises.
For example, response rates for radio and television advertising typically is under 1%. Although inserts in newspapers and magazines commonly have somewhat higher response rates on the order of 1-2%, newspaper and magazine advertisements also have very low response rates, usually under 1%. Direct mail, catalogs, and e-mails have average response rates around 2%. The response rates for all of these methods, however, are greatly reduced because the vast majority of the ads are never viewed. For example, most direct mailings are thrown away without ever being opened. Likewise, from 85 to 99% of e-mailings are never opened.
Thus, most advertising methods are very inefficient and wasteful. The effective cost for each advertising message that is actually communicated to consumers, therefore, is generally many times higher that the nominal cost per message. Thus, despite, and in part because of the number and variety of conventional methods, advertisers continue to seek more cost effective ways of disseminating advertising messages.
Some methods of direct advertising that have shown both significant promise and significant shortcomings utilize the product itself as a distribution vehicle. For example, in “cross ruffing” a noncompetitive product is used as the vehicle to distribute a coupon, sample, or other sales promotion offer for another product. Coupons, premiums, and rebates toward the purchase of the same or another product also are attached to or included in product packaging as part of so-called “bounce back” offers. That is, packaging for products has long presented advertising messages relating to the products that are contained therein along with whatever other product information that may be required by law. More recently, however, products have been distributed in packaging that includes and presents advertising messages and incentives for products other than that contained in the package or that will incentivize the consumer to purchase more of the same product. The messages typically have been imprinted on the packaging itself, carried in the packaging along with the product, or removably affixed to the packaging.
Cross ruffing and bounce back advertising messages on carrier products have a significant cost advantage over other forms of direct advertising because the distribution of such messages is in a sense nearly cost free. That is, other than the cost of printing or otherwise preparing the advertising message itself, there is little incremental cost in disseminating cross ruffed and bounce back advertising messages over and above the cost of producing and distributing the carrier products themselves.
Accordingly, cross ruffed and bounce back advertising messages on certain products have become common, for example, on cereal packaging. Many people place the box on the table while they eat breakfast cereals. Although they may be reading a newspaper, televisions may be on, or there may be other activities diverting their attention, this provides a greater opportunity for consumers to view advertising messages carried on or in cereal packaging. Accordingly, advertising messages carried on cereal packaging can have a higher view rate than other forms of direct advertising.
Despite the advantages of presenting an advertising message directly to a target audience, and despite its significant cost advantage over other forms of direct advertising, the type of products and packaging utilized to carry cross ruffed and bounce back advertising messages has been limited. In some instances this may be because certain products are not consumed under circumstances conducive to viewing of advertising messages. In other instances advertisers may fail to appreciate the opportunities created during consumption of the product. On the other hand, some products are consumed under circumstances that appear to provide ideal environments for delivering an advertising message, yet their use as carrier products has been extremely limited or non-existent.
Fortune cookies, for example, have a message slip baked into the cookie that is almost universally viewed, thus ensuring that any advertising message carried thereon would be effectively delivered as well. The relatively small size of traditional fortune cookie inserts, however, does not provide space for delivering much more than a branding type message, and fortune cookie inserts to date have proven unsuitable for delivering more extensive and sophisticated advertising messages.
Many so called “single-serve” food products are consumed under circumstances that also appear to provide favorable environments for presenting consumers with an opportunity to view advertising messages. Such single-serve products include a variety of condiments, such as sugar, sugar substitutes, ketchup, relish, and sauces, which are provided to consumers in restaurants, concessions, institutions, and other food service outlets. Such consumers frequently have many opportunities to view advertising messages while they are waiting for their food or eating it.
To date, however, single-serve products have not been used or used effectively as vehicles to deliver advertising messages. One of the most common types of packaging for such products is so-called “pouch” or “sachet” containers. They are fabricated from sheets of various papers and films that are formed most commonly into generally rectangular “pillow” shapes, the interior volume of which holds the product. They are commonly divided into two general types: three and four-sided seals.
Three-sided seal pouch containers comprise a single, generally rectangular sheet that is folded in half. Seals are then formed in what may be viewed as the top and side edges of the pouch, those three seals and the fold defining a sealed volume in which product is disposed. There also are “wrap” style three-sided seal pouches. Such pouches comprise a generally rectangular sheet that is folded twice. Seals are formed in two opposing side edges. The third seal is formed on one of the faces, as opposed to the edge, of the pouch. Four-sided seal pouch containers comprise two, superimposed, generally rectangular sheets that are sealed together on all four edges. In addition to the most common pillow shape, there are also gusset bottom and stand-up pouch containers, and extensions from the top of pouch containers have been provided with holes to facilitate display of the packaged product.
The sheets from which pouch containers are fabricated typically are composed of an imprintable substrate that is well suited for presenting advertising and information relating to the packaged product. To date, however, pouch containers, especially those used to package single-serve food products, have not been used extensively, if at all, as carriers for cross ruffed and bounce back advertising messages.
One problem is that the serving size of many of products is relatively small, meaning that the pouch container for such products also is relatively small. For example, sugar packets typically are approximately 1.75″ by 3.75″, or somewhat smaller. Ketchup packets and packets for other sauces typically are approximately 2.0″ by 3.75″, or somewhat smaller. There is a limited amount of imprintable space, much of which must be devoted to product information required by law or good business practice. Typically any advertising messages are limited to relatively simple branding messages and such messages usually pertain to the packaged product. There is very little room for more sophisticated and complex advertising messages that are essential to successful marketing campaigns.
In particular, many products, such as food and consumer household products, are promoted extensively using manufacturer coupons. Such coupons typically offer a discount on specifically identified products and are distributed to consumers through various media such as newspapers and direct mailings. Consumers may redeem the coupons with merchants selling the product. The merchants in turn are reimbursed by the manufacturer or distributor of the product. The vast majority of manufacturer coupons are redeemed by merchants through a clearing house such as NCH Marketing Services, Deerfield, Ill. The automated processing of such manufacturer coupons essentially requires that they incorporate machine readable indicia, such as UPC bar codes utilizing the UCC/EAN-128 Article Numbering System. Information on standards for manufacturer coupons is publicly available, for example, through Uniform Code Council, Inc., Lawrenceville, N.J., and through Grocery Manufacturers of America, Inc., Washington, D.C.
Manufacturer coupons have been distributed using various types of product packaging as a carrier. For example, such coupons commonly are carried inside or imprinted on carton containers used to package cereal and other food products. The carton containers for such products typically are quite large and can easily accommodate manufacture coupons. Many pouch containers commonly used in packaging single-serve products, however, are as a practical matter too small to accommodate a bar code and even minimal product identification as is required to produce a consumer redeemable, manufacturer coupon.
An object of this invention, therefore, is to provide improved methods for directly disseminating advertising messages to consumers of food and other types of products and improved packaging for products providing a medium for delivery of advertising messages.
It also is an object to provide such improved methods and packaging capable of delivering more extensive and sophisticated advertising messages, such as redeemable manufacturer coupons, especially such methods and packaging that may be used to advantage in single-serve food products.
Another object of this invention is to provide improved packaging having increased imprintable surface area, and especially such packaging that may be used to advantage in single-serve food products.
It also is a more specific object of the subject invention to provide improved pouch packaging, and especially pouch packaging for single-serve and other relatively small pouch packages, that is capable of delivering more extensive and sophisticated advertising messages, such as redeemable manufacturer coupons.
Yet another object is to provide such improved packaging that may be produced by conventional machinery and processes with little or no modification.
It is a further object of this invention to provide such methods and packaging wherein all of the above-mentioned advantages are realized.
Those and other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art upon reading the following detailed description and upon reference to the drawings.